Singapore Airlines to seek flight attendants

TAIPEI--Singapore Airlines said Saturday it will recruit flight attendants in Taiwan, urging interested Taiwanese to send their resumes through the carrier's website by the end of this month.

It will be the fourth consecutive year for the Singaporean carrier to hire flight attendants in Taiwan.

The recruitment is part of a growing trend among airlines flying to this region which want to tap Taiwanese people, because they speak Mandarin, to handle the increased travel by mainland Chinese.

The kind of Taiwanese job applicants the Singaporean carrier is seeking are people who hold the Republic of China nationality and a university degree, and who are fluent in both Chinese and English.

Those who are hired will be required to reside in the city state.

The airline said in addition to allowances and other benefits, the carrier will offer about NT$80,000 (US$2,702) in monthly salary to newly hired flight attendants, who will also get one month of base salary as an annual bonus.

While Singapore Airlines did not disclose how many Taiwanese flight attendants it will be seeking, the carrier has hired 20-40 new staff in Taiwan every year in its past recruitment activities.

The carrier said more than 1,500 Taiwanese competed in each of its annual hirings in the past few years.

In late February, Japan's All Nippon Airways launched a recruitment drive here to seek about 10 flight attendants by offering about NT$70,000 in monthly salary. About 1,700 people competed for the openings, the carrier said.

Last year, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines sought 50 flight attendants in Taiwan and the recruitment attracted almost 3,000 interested Taiwanese to compete for the jobs.

It was the first time for Dragonair to hire flight attendants in Taiwan. It offered a monthly salary of about NT$60,000. However, the Hong Kong carrier currently has no immediate plans to hire in Taiwan.

EVA Airways and China Airlines of Taiwan are scheduled to hire about 100 flight attendants in April and May, respectively, to serve on its new cross-strait flights.

The deadline for interested applicants to submit their resumes to EVA Airways is March 14, while no details about China Airline's hiring were immediately available.

TransAsia Airways and Far Eastern Air Transport, two Taiwanese mid-sized carriers, are meanwhile planning to launch their recruitment drives later this year.

Local carriers tend to offer a lower monthly salary of NT$40,000-NT$50,000 to their flight attendants.